Today's Passage - Matthew 5:17-20

Matthew 5:17-20   "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.  Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.   The Lord said that "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."  This line can be considered as the core message in the latter half of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five.  We often have the wrong concept that Old Testament time was the era of law and New Testament time is the era of grace, and therefore we don't need to follow the law now.  Actually, the difference between Old and New Testaments is not the law, but rather the fact that Old Testament delivered the law and the New Testament fulfilled the law.   New Testament law can be broken into three types: First, law of rituals, including sacrifices and ceremonies; second, law of morality, including Ten Commandments and teachings around daily life; third, law of civil affairs, including how to conduct civil trials.  Law of rituals foretells the work of Jesus Christ, and they became reality with Christ, so we don't need to offer sacrifices of ox and lamb anymore.  It's not because we don't need to follow the law, but it's because Christ already offered Himself as sacrifice on our behalf, and it will be effective forever.  When we believe and accept the salvation of Christ, we are already following the law.  We don't need to observe Sabbath anymore because true rest lies in Christ, so every day is Sabbath now.  When we are living in the Lord, the Lord lives inside us, and that is the way to observe Sabbath.  We celebrate Lord's Day on Sunday not because we're observing Sabbath, but we celebrate the day that Jesus Christ resurrected from death.   Law of morality is for manifesting the holiness of God, and law of civil affairs is for manifesting the righteousness of God.  These laws and rules were there for God to manifest His beauty from His people.  That's why Jesus said that He wasn't here to abolish, but rather to fulfill.  When the Lord rebuked the Pharisees in the Epistles, He didn't mean that they shouldn't observe the law, but they shouldn't observe the law in their ways.  They only value what's on the outside - You are righteous as long as you didn't commit murder, adultery or theft.  Such righteousness is the righteousness of men, which simply tries to do our best by our own might, but it's not the righteousness of God and it doesn't meet the standard of God's law.  God doesn't just value the outside, but He also values the purity of our inside.  God doesn't just want good behavior, but also renewal of our attitude.  May God's Spirit shine upon us and let us become willing to have Jesus Christ fulfill His law in our lives.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, please open our eyes so that we can understand you came to the world to fulfill the law, not to abolish the law.  Give us a soft heart so that you can work inside us until your law is fulfilled in our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!      Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!